Israel attorney general offers legal options for war conduct inquiry

[JURIST] Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz [official profile] on Tuesday sent Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [official website] a memo detailing the pros and cons of all possible legal methods the government may use to investigate the country's conduct in the Middle East conflict [JURIST news archive]. The memo, which was not released to the press, lists at least five options, the most serious of which is a state commission of inquiry. Olmert has opposed a state commission [Haaretz report] because Israeli law strictly regulates state commission procedure, leaving Olmert scant flexibility in conducting the investigation. Other alternatives proposed by Mazuz include a governmental inquiry commission with subpoena powers, a parliamentary commission of inquiry, or an inquiry committee appointed by a minister, all of which carry less weight than a state commission. Mazuz also approved the legality of the state comptroller [official website] investigation that was launched [AFP report] on Monday, which enjoys majority support from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee [Haaretz report].

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